Engineering Team Explores Acoustic Qualities Of Face Masks

Press release from Kennesaw State University:

Feb 10, 2021

Engineering team explores acoustic qualities of face masks

KENNESAW, Ga.
(Feb 10, 2021) — Kennesaw State University’s Office of Research is hosting a one-hour web show every
other Friday at 4 p.m. to showcase the varied research being conducted by KSU faculty
members. “Research with Relevance” spotlights Kennesaw State researchers in a live interview followed by an interactive
question-and-answer session with the virtual audience.

This week’s episode features Laura Ruhala, associate professor of mechanical engineering;
Richard Ruhala, professor of mechanical engineering; and Lance Crimm, professor of
electrical engineering; all of whom belong to the Southern Polytechnic College of
Engineering and Engineering Technology. The trio will discuss a recent study involving
the acoustic qualities of different types of face masks. Prior to the presentation,
each answered a few questions about their interest in research and its benefits to
students.

How did you first become involved in this field of research?

Richard Ruhala and Laura Ruhala
Laura Ruhala: I don’t think that I fully understood the research requirements of becoming a professor
until I began to investigate getting my doctorate. It was during my Ph.D. studies
that I fell in love with research due to my faculty advisor, Renata Engle. My research
has been in engineering mechanics, which is a pretty broad area. My interest in acoustics
comes from conversations with my beloved spouse, Rich. We first became interested
in specifically studying the acoustics of facemasks when I talked to my high school
friend about her daughter's difficulty with face masks given her hearing disability.
My friend complained that her daughter was hindered by her inability to read lips.
It was about that time that a Duke University study came out that ranked face masks
for droplet transmission. Rich and I then set a goal to take the masks that the Duke
study used, and instead of looking at droplet transmission, evaluate their acoustic
transmission.

Richard Ruhala: I got involved in noise control right after earning my bachelor’s degree in mechanical
engineering from Michigan State University in 1991. I was fortunate to get an engineering
position in automotive exhaust systems at General Motors. Hearing the reduction in
noise or changes in sound using engineering methods got me interested in acoustics,
which led me to earn my Ph.D. in Acoustics from The Pennsylvania State University.
During my Ph.D., I developed and applied new acoustic imaging methods to study tire-pavement
interaction noise. I enjoyed that research, but decided to take an industrial job
as a staff engineer at Lucent Technologies developing new automotive cellular systems.
After a few years there, Laura and I both searched for and secured tenure-track positions
as I really missed the academic environment. That led us to the University of Southern
Indiana and eventually to the Southern Polytechnic State University, now KSU. After
10 years at KSU, I have enjoyed seeing our program and university grow from a smaller,
teaching-oriented institution to a large R2 university.

Lance Crimm
Crimm: I have been passionate about playing piano music since a very young age, which led
me to become interested in the physics of music and acoustics, as well as studying
music technology applications in electrical engineering. After showing the Ruhalas
my renovated 1927 concert grand piano, it caused us to think about what research possibilities
in acoustics we could explore together. Not long after, the Ruhalas returned to my
home with one of their graduate students to do some audio and acoustical measurements
of my piano. With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, I met with them again to discuss
this area of research.

What was the defining (or ‘aha’) moment when you realized this is what you wanted
to do?

Laura Ruhala: In high school, I always excelled at math and science, so, even though I had very
little hands-on mechanical experience, I was encouraged to become an engineer. Having
grown up in Flint, Mich., then known as Buick City, being a General Motors engineer
was considered a pinnacle of success. Unfortunately, though, I never had a real passion
for automotive engineering until my last two years at GM when I became a Safety and
Crashworthiness engineer. During my senior year of high school, I was a sole survivor
of a horrific motor vehicle accident, so improving automotive safety was near and
dear to my heart. Working in that department reignited my desire to continue my engineering
education so that I could become a professor.

I first realized that I wanted to become a professor when I was a student at GMI Engineering
& Management Institute, now known as Kettering University. The motor vehicle accident
left me with permanent and painful physical disabilities, so I never figured that
I would be physically able to be a professor if I couldn’t write on a board. During
my sophomore year, I had a professor who used fill-in-the-blank teaching notes as
his pedagogical method. This was the first time I had seen that delivery method, and
he did this not because he was disabled, but because it was such an effective method.
At that moment I had the “aha” that I could also be a professor.

In what ways has KSU supported your research?

Richard Ruhala: As long-time faculty, we didn’t have any startup funds or much university support
to launch our research career when we joined. However a big break came when we got
a course release in order to devote more time for research. Another big way that KSU
has supported my research is with getting undergraduate students involved with directed
study course credit. Some students are so excited about research they will even volunteer
their time. I am glad to see KSU expanding internal and external research support.

How are you involving students in your research?

Laura Ruhala: Our research team had two students actively involved in the data collection in November
and December. The first student, Anaheeta Headjimirzaei, has since graduated from
KSU with a degree in mechanical engineering. She is hoping to pursue graduate studies
and wanted to gain some research experience. The second student, Andrew Pearce, is
a mechanical engineering undergraduate student. He participated in the research as
part of the requirements of his EE 4400 Directed Studies course. We currently have
a third student involved as part of ME 4400 Directed Studies.. We currently have a
third student involved, also as part of ME 4400 Directed Studies.

Richard Ruhala: I try to get at least one student involved each semester. They contribute to research
projects and are encouraged to publish and present their findings. Learning is a two
way street, and I learn a lot from the students as well as motivate to answer questions
and apply results.

Crimm: We had one of my student assistants take an EE Directed Study to help with this initial
phase of work along with another amazing student the Ruhalas' recruited. We plan to
involve additional students for our upcoming listening study where we have consistently
seen students more engaged when involved alongside faculty research.

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A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers more than 150 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 41,000 students. With 11 colleges on two metro Atlanta campuses, Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia and the second-largest university in the state. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the region and from 126 countries across the globe. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 6 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.

This press release was produced by Kennesaw State University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.